Misjudgement
by Loopstagirl
Summary: Someone was out to protect the servants. Merlin didn't think he would have ever guessed at who it was.


_Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners._

_Just a short story for you. Originally written for a Camelot_Drabble prompt but I thought I would extend it and then post on here, so hope you like it._

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Merlin watched as Arthur spoke quietly with a chambermaid before sending her on her way with a gold coin clutched in her hand. She bobbed a curtsey, stumbling over her thanks until Arthur gently prompted her into moving, his face soft and caring. Merlin could only stare, wondering if Arthur was actually two different people. It was the only reason he could think of considering the change in the prince.

For a month now, he had watched his master beat older knights in their training sessions in almost humiliating ways, goading and mocking them as he did so. He had watched as Arthur boasted and showed off in front of his noble friends and had decided that both the dragon and the king – after all, he was the one to appoint Merlin Arthur's servant – had both got it wrong. There was no way he was cut out to deal with the arrogant prince. He was more likely going to get himself beheaded than he was at actually helping Arthur in his journey to become king. If he was completely honest, Merlin wasn't entirely sure he wanted to help Arthur, not if this was the sort of man he was.

The prince was a prat, through and through.

But it didn't take long until Merlin began to realise there was perhaps another side to Arthur. A side he kept hidden and would deny until his last breath. But Merlin had still seen it. It was like witnessing something out of the corner of his eye. To start with, Merlin wasn't sure what it was making him believe Arthur wasn't as bad as he had feared. It certainly wasn't anything the prince had done towards him that indicated a softer side.

But just after Merlin had been in Arthur's service for a month, an incident occurred that made Merlin know for sure there was more to Arthur than met the eye; more even than the prince would let anyone see.

A newcomer - some noble from the north staying as a guest to the king -had been giving the servants grief from the moment he stepped foot in Camelot. Beating at the young men who didn't move quickly, cornering the maids with lewd intentions when no one else was around – he had become the servant's worse nightmare. Many refused to have anything to do with him, but it wasn't that simple. It wasn't as if the man stayed in one place in the castle, roaming it almost just to keep everyone on edge.

Merlin didn't realise Arthur was aware that something was wrong. After all, it was a matter dealing with the servants, Arthur had certainly never shown any signs before of caring what was happening to anyone below in him in status. Considering he was the Prince of Camelot, that naturally meant it didn't seem as if Arthur cared about anyone other than his father.

Merlin never thought of telling his master, assuming that Arthur would simply scoff and make some of degrading comment. At least, not until he had turned up to work, late with a black eye and in a foul mood one day.

He had only been walking down the same corridor as the noble when the man had decided that servants shouldn't even be in the same part of the castle as him. Merlin had no choice but to take that path; it was the most direct route between the physician's chambers and Arthur's. Already pushing it as to whether he was going to get there on time or not, Merlin had no intention of taking a different path and had just continued. He knew the loud and obnoxious words hadn't been aimed directly at him, for he wasn't the only servant walking this stretch of corridor and he certainly wasn't the closest to the man.

But the servant just in front was little more than a child. Merlin often saw him in the armoury, polishing boots for the knights while he clearly tried to absorb as much as information about the noblemen as he could. Merlin had a feeling he was the child of another couple of servants and they had no one to watch him during the day so had managed to find some sort of work for him. The boy had looked terrified at the loud voice and the arm stretching up above his head. Merlin had interfered before it crossed his mind that he would be the one to bear the punishment. He only just had enough time to cross the distance between them before the blow fell, let alone anything else.

It had hurt but he hadn't minded, not when it meant the boy had got away. He had taken harsher hits from Will when they had played as boys. The nobleman hadn't been aiming at him and hadn't had the chance to adjust his blow before it fell. It was still enough to instantly cause Merlin's skin to blacken and he had practically run from the scene before he said something that would earn him a true beating.

But he certainly hadn't been in the mood for Arthur's usual jibes about his clumsiness when he arrived at work. To his surprise, however, Arthur had gently caught his chin and tilted his head towards the light, examining the injury carefully. Merlin hadn't intended to tell Arthur what had happened, but the words were slipping from him before he could stop himself. There was something about Arthur's demeanour at that moment which meant Merlin felt as if he had no choice but to tell him the truth. It was strange; he almost felt compelled to talk even though Arthur hadn't asked him what had happened. But as soon as Merlin had finished talking and Arthur had examined the bruise as closely as he could, the prince strode from the room with a face of thunder.

Merlin hadn't known what to make of it. Why would Arthur care about the way a guest was treating the servants, surely he thought it was some right that a noble could treat others how he wanted? Merlin put it from his mind and told himself he had just imagined Arthur's strange mood.

Until he had started seeing other signs, however.

Servants were suddenly banding together, walking in pairs. That way, if one was cornered, there was always someone else to run for help. When asked why, they all just said something about orders coming from high up. Merlin couldn't work out who would be behind it; who would focus on the servants enough to strategize a way to avoid the man? But that wasn't the only thing that was changing. Knights were seen patrolling more and more corridors during the day as well as at night and concealed alcoves suddenly found themselves the home to a vase or some other ornament. Everywhere that was a potential trap for unwary servants had something put in place to make it harder for them to be cornered or dragged out of sight.

Even with the changes taking place around him, Merlin was still determined to think of Arthur as the prat he had to serve. He had no reason to change his opinion, not when Arthur was still just treating him as if he was a doormat. The man never showed any kindness when he was out in the public eye. He would punch his friends sooner than share pleasantries with them and Merlin found that he was constantly on edge. He believed that any moment Arthur was suddenly going to turn on him and his problems would have only just begun.

Until Gaius said something about receiving Arthur's message and to tell him it was all in hand. Merlin had pried, but the physician would say no more. In the end, he had muttered something about needing to do his rounds and left the room, leaving Merlin to realise that he was running late again and would need to sprint – and hope no one unpleasant saw him – if he wanted to get to Arthur on time.

Merlin had relayed the words dutifully to the prince without having a clue what they meant. But as Arthur had gone to turn away, he found that his hand had stuck out and he had caught the prince by the sleeve. It didn't dawn on him that it might be a bad idea, not even when Arthur had looked at him with raised eyebrows and an incredulous expression on his face. Merlin found himself taking a deep breath.

"Merlin," there was a warning note in Arthur's voice when he spoke. But Merlin had ignored that and instead demanded to know what Gaius had meant.

Initially, he didn't think that Arthur would answer. But after some gentle coaxing (and even more yelling), Merlin found himself discovering that Arthur had been making sure that Gaius had enough supplies and ointments for the amount of injuries that were cropping up amongst the serving staff, offering money to help purchase more if the physician didn't have enough.

Arthur's face was flaming by the time he was finished, but Merlin found he was just staring at the prince.

He had got Arthur so wrong, and it was only now he was beginning to see just how much.

Arthur was a fool and a bully when amongst his friends.

It was enough to keep them respecting him and therefore toeing the line. They reacted to violence and a heavy hand and it meant Arthur remained firmly as their leader. They wouldn't go against his orders or wishes, not when they knew Arthur would have no qualms about publically calling them out on it and they would lose the favour of the prince. No doubt from their father's as well if they found out they were no longer friends with the prince.

This newcomer wasn't part of the group. Arthur hadn't yet found a way to make the man respect him and therefore had not yet discovered the means to keep him under control.

If he couldn't deal with the man, then Arthur was just going to make sure he changed the things he did have influence over. It was only when he had burst in – late as usual – to a meeting Arthur was having with the head of household staff (who had given Merlin a disapproving look at the time and a long lecture afterwards) that meant he realised the orders about walking in pairs had come from the prince. It made sense when he started thinking about it; Arthur was also the one who controlled what patrols the knights and guards did. He was the one with the power to influence everyone else in the castle, so that was what he was making sure he did.

Merlin had a feeling he might have misjudged Arthur as he watched him now. The prince was watching the maid go with a drawn look on his face. Merlin knew what the coin was for. Arthur had been sending servants down to the markets for some added treats; food mainly to share among the staff as a way of trying to compensate what they were having to go through. Off his own back and reaching into his own pocket, he was trying to make amends for something that wasn't his fault. Merlin knew Arthur was aware that a honey cake didn't make a vivid bruise any better, but it kept the staff loyal. It meant they knew Arthur was trying to do something, even if he couldn't stop the man. The noble was a guest of the king rather than of the prince, so Arthur had little authority to expel him from the castle.

"What are you gawping at like the idiot you are, _Mer_lin? I thought I told you I had training to get to?" Arthur had half turned and clearly seen his servant standing there just watching him.

"Yes, Sire," Merlin turned away to hide his smirk. Now that he had a new understanding of Arthur, he was beginning to understand why the man insulted him so much as well. It was Arthur's way of saying that he believed Merlin could handle himself.

In a strange way, it was Arthur's version of a compliment.

Now that Merlin had figured that out, he found that he didn't mind them so much. After all, Arthur was striving to protect everyone else and yet believed Merlin could look after himself. It wasn't often people had thought that highly of him and Merlin hide his face so that Arthur couldn't see his smile. He thought he was beginning to understand Arthur; the more sarcastic he was, the higher he thought of the person in question.

As he started to gather his master's things for his training session, Merlin knew he was beginning to change his mind. It had taken a month, but he was finally beginning to see what the dragon meant about Arthur's destiny. Serving Arthur wouldn't be so bad after all, not when the man seemed singlehandedly determined to set everything right in the castle without letting anyone officially know. It seemed that He was indeed destined to be a great King if he was going to take the time and effort to protect the servants when he was nothing more than a prince. No one knew it was him, not officially anyway, which meant no one was praising him for it. Arthur wasn't doing this for attention; he was doing it because he cared.

"Merlin, come on!" Arthur was halfway down the corridor by the time he called back and Merlin cursed, hurrying after him while being laden down. It wasn't easy and he thought he was going to sever his own foot when he almost dropped the sword. Just in time, he managed to catch it and when he drew level with the prince, Arthur stuck out a hand and grabbed the throwing knives. His actions were so careless it was as if he didn't even know he was doing it.

As Arthur yelled at him again, Merlin smirked even as he doubled his pace. It didn't seem to matter whether he was changing his mind about his master or not. Arthur was still just as determined as ever to make his life awkward. Perhaps that was his way of making sure his servant didn't believe he was going soft.

But as he passed a patrol that hadn't guarded that corridor a week ago, Merlin knew it would be worth it. After all, if Arthur was doing this now, then Merlin knew he would only grow as time went on. But compared to previously, Arthur now had someone to help him.

Merlin was still trying to decide whether or not he was going to let Arthur know that.


End file.
